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Big pickup for coach Ralph. She's a 5'11 swing guard who plays summer ball with Bay State Jaguars and high school ball with Tabor Academy in Massachusetts. Shea has been after her hard for more than a year. Roster openings are tight for '25, and the fact that coach Ralph is willing to fill one of them with this young lady a year early says a lot about how high she is on Black.

Plus, she has my favorite name of all our recruits: Ava Jaye Black just sounds good.

 
Right now, I have us with a 13-player roster for '24, and we have offers out to three guards right now. Among those 13 are one grad who currently has two years eligibility and one senior who has a covid year coming. It's going to get interesting. On the bright side, Vandy currently sits on finalist lists of the 16th ranked and 39th ranked players on Hoopgurlz. They're very similar...5'11 guards.

 
It was previously posted to the effect that Vandy wasn't accepting transfer students unless they were freshmen.
Apparently it was the AD's policy at the time because of the value of a Vandy degree.
It's good to see that Vandy has come to their senses & agreed to join the world of modern WCBB.
The best way to improve freshmen recruitment is to win games, & transfers are required to get the ball rolling.
I'll bet that Shea let their AD know in no uncertain terms that his transfer policy was foolish.
 
sun said:
It was previously posted to the effect that Vandy wasn't accepting transfer students unless they were freshmen.
Apparently it was the AD's policy at the time because of the value of a Vandy degree.
It's good to see that Vandy has come to their senses & agreed to join the world of modern WCBB.
The best way to improve freshmen recruitment is to win games, & transfers are required to get the ball rolling.
I'll bet that Shea let their AD know in no uncertain terms that his transfer policy was foolish.
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The policy has not and will not change. I fear my (or coach Ralph's) wording could have misled you in the beginning.

It's freshmen and grad students. Perhaps the confusion is that, with the exception of grads, she means only players who have finished freshman year (i.e. Justine Pissott this year). They're not going to let you transfer in after your sophomore or junior year, spend a year or two at the school and walk away with a Vanderbilt degree.

Shea has said she agrees with the policy. She has often talked about how she feels the degree is a big selling point to the type of recruits she wants to attract.

Sorry if I misled you.
 
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YoDore said:
The policy has not and will not change. I fear my (or coach Ralph's) wording could have misled you in the beginning.

It's freshmen and grad students. Perhaps the confusion is that, with the exception of grads, she means only players who have finished freshman year (i.e. Justine Pissott this year). They're not going to let you transfer in after your sophomore or junior year, spend a year or two at the school and walk away with a Vanderbilt degree.

Shea has said she agrees with the policy. She has often talked about how she feels the degree is a big selling point to the type of recruits she wants to attract.

Sorry if I misled you.
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Thanks for reminding me.
The transfer policy probably doesn't affect BB as much as Vandy's other sports as long as the WBB program doesn't have many outgoing transfers.
But larger team sports like Vandy baseball & football can be affected more as experienced players do routinely transfer.

vanderbilthustler.com

What’s going on with the VandyBoys and the transfer portal?

With Christian Little and Carter Young entering the transfer portal, are the VandyBoys at risk of being left behind the pack?
vanderbilthustler.com vanderbilthustler.com

www.on3.com

2023 Vanderbilt Football Transfer Portal

The latest 2023 college football players that have entered the transfer portal.
www.on3.com www.on3.com
 
Also, Vandy's AD is a she, not a he.
sun said:
I'll bet that Shea let their AD know in no uncertain terms that his transfer policy was foolish.
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Also, Vandy's AD is a she, not a he.

Candice Storey Lee

The official athletic site of the Vanderbilt Commodores. Find rosters for all players, coaches and staff, including Candice Storey Lee, Interim Vice Chancellor for Athletics and University Affairs and Interim Athletic Director. Powered by WMT Digital.
vucommodores.com vucommodores.com
 
YoDore said:
Right now, I have us with a 13-player roster for '24, and we have offers out to three guards right now. Among those 13 are one grad who currently has two years eligibility and one senior who has a covid year coming. It's going to get interesting. On the bright side, Vandy currently sits on finalist lists of the 16th ranked and 39th ranked players on Hoopgurlz. They're very similar...5'11 guards.

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I appreciate these updates. It makes it easy to keep track of coach Ralph's program.

If I recall correctly injuries really setbacks a team last year. You must feel pretty good about seeing what the program can't do with a full roster.
 
CL82 said:
I appreciate these updates. It makes it easy to keep track of coach Ralph's program.

If I recall correctly injuries really setbacks a team last year. You must feel pretty good about seeing what the program can't do with a full roster.
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Very much so. I think they lost 3-4 starters for the year due to injury
 
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Whenever she gets around to announcing a finalist list, I fully expect Vandy to be on it. Then, it'll be nail-biting time.

 
After three previous ACL surgeries and a year-long rehab following achilles surgery, she's back. No wonder coach Ralph calls her one of her favorite players to ever coach. She's got a lot of Shea in her. Jordyn Cambridge is an exceptional young lady.

 
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Majic Hands said:
Was unable to access the Vanderbilt forum.

It seems they have moved.
Vanderbilt forum women's basketball
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They had some major technical problems, and the site was down completely for a few days. They're trying to get it back up, but it's not working properly. It's starting to look like all the board history could be lost even when they do get things running again. Right now, the only forum working is football. They prioritized that because there is a game this weekend.

Not a lot of people post on the board, but I would hate to lose all the recruiting information I and a couple others gathered over the last two years. Not the end of the world, though.
 
Coach Ralph was on hand for 10th-ranked Mikayla Blakes' and Rutgers Prep's open gym yesterday. Vandy is on her final-7 list. Only three of the teams on the list, Vandy, Rutgers and Stanford, were there. Four others, UT, Indiana, UCLA and Wisconsin, were not there. I'm hoping that's a sign. I usually know better than to get my hopes up, but I'm weak. This would be a huge get for coach Ralph if she can pull it off.

 
I like Vandy, but I'm want her to stay home.

Hopefully her bestie Antonia Bates can convince her to join her at Rutgers. :P
 
Coler said:
I like Vandy, but I'm want her to stay home.

Hopefully her bestie Antonia Bates can convince her to join her at Rutgers. :p
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I hear you, but since you've got LSU in your back pocket, it's hard for me to sympathize. :p
 
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Coler said:
I like Vandy, but I'm want her to stay home.

Hopefully her bestie Antonia Bates can convince her to join her at Rutgers. :p
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She's at Indiana this weekend. They've worried me from the start.
 
Class of '25 guard Ava Jaye Black comments on why she committed to Vandy. I think she is the perfect example of the kind of player coach Ralph has to attract in numbers to be a success at Vandy. She is not as highly touted as some by the scouting services, but she is an excellent all-around basketball player. I've always felt if you compile a list of the top-100 players, there are easily a hundred other players who could make the list. I'm not talking about the very elite players, but once you get deeper into the list, there is very little to separate those players from many others who aren't as well known.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. I also truly believe it.

Swipe to the second photo to see Black's comment.

 
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Good story by Graham Hays about this summer's international travel by Vanderbilt's basketball, soccer, swimming and lacrosse teams. The NCAA allows programs to make international trips once every four years.

vucommodores.com

Around the World in 90 Days

Vanderbilt student-athletes traveled to six countries across three continents on summer international trips, bringing them closer together and expanding horizons
vucommodores.com vucommodores.com

 
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YoDore said:
A few clips from the first day of practice. Yes, I'm excited.

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As you should be excited. Appreciate the updates on the Vandy program and all that one of our favorite people, Coach Shea Ralph, is doing. I am hoping that she is able to get Vandy back into the middle of the SEC. Good luck this season.
 
Vandy got an unofficial visit today (maybe Monday?) from 6'3 class of '25 wing Kaelyn Carroll, who is ranked #45 on ESPN Hoopgurlz. She plays at Tabor Academy in Massachusetts and for Bay State Jaguars in the summer months. Those are the same programs as recent '25 Vandy commit Ava Jaye Black.

Carroll was at Tennessee over the weekend, also an unofficial visit. She has offers from several heavy hitters, including North Carolina, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon and Virginia Tech. As far as I can tell, she does not as yet have an offer from coach Ralph, but she did get one from former coach Stephanie White.
 
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